IDF targets Hamas funding and weapons storage
The IDF said it eliminated two terrorists involved in facilitating the transfer of millions of shekels from the Iranian regime and Turkey to Hamas’ military wing throughout the war.
Karam Riyad Hassan Abu Butaihan, an Islamic Jihad terrorist involved in transferring funds to Hamas’ military wing, was eliminated in a strike in the Nuseirat area last Tuesday.
Alaa Ibrahim Nimer Arshi, a terrorist cell commander in Hamas’ military wing, was eliminated in a separate strike in the Gaza City area last Wednesday.
According to the IDF, the funds were recently used to help Hamas rebuild its military capabilities and plan terrorist attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, constituting a systematic violation of the ceasefire. The military said the terrorists were eliminated to remove this threat.
Last Thursday, the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) also dismantled a weapons storage facility in central Gaza in an aerial strike. The IDF said Hamas’ military wing used it to store various weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles, a launcher and rockets.
The military said security forces would continue targeting terrorist organizations’ funding and military buildup in Gaza, degrading their capabilities and thwarting efforts to restore them or acquire weapons intended to harm IDF troops.
Readiness exercise across Central and Northern Commands
An exercise began Sunday involving the Judea and Samaria Division, the 98th, 96th and 210th divisions, and the Israeli Air Force across territorial division areas.
Planned under the Operations Directorate’s 2026 training schedule, it includes examining lessons from the war and practicing operational procedures to strengthen readiness, community defense and the use of aerial capabilities for defense.
Increased movement of security forces, aircraft and vehicles is expected Sunday and Monday throughout the Central and Northern Command areas. The IDF said this activity does not indicate a security incident.
Troops remove Israelis from closed zone near Jalud
The IDF said troops were dispatched Saturday near Jalud, in the Samaria Brigade’s sector, after Israeli civilians were identified unlawfully inside a closed military zone. Troops used riot dispersal measures to remove them.
A fire subsequently broke out at the site, and its circumstances remain under investigation.
According to the military, the location is in Area B and contains an illegal outpost subject to a closed military zone order. The IDF described those staying there as violent rioters and said violent and illegal acts had originated from the outpost.
It added that the building belongs to Palestinians and that equipment owned by Israeli civilians should not be present there.
The IDF said the rioters’ presence diverts security forces from defense and counterterrorism operations and harms local residents. Security forces are working to prevent Israeli civilians from returning, enforce the closure order and maintain law and order.
Election-day closure in Judea and Samaria
Following a fresh security assessment, the IDF said Palestinian workers would be barred from entering Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley on Sunday and Monday. Industrial zones and a “limited number of other approved areas” are exempt.
For Israel’s national elections on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the political leadership approved the security establishment’s recommendation to extend restrictions to all settlements and industrial zones, banning Palestinian workers’ entry and exit and closing all land crossings between Judea and Samaria and Israel to Palestinians.
The military said the crossings would reopen and worker restrictions would be lifted after election day.
According to data from last year, approximately 9,000 Palestinians hold permits to work in settlements or nearby industrial zones.
